The Repayment
by MadUnderTheHat999
Summary: Just starting out at college on another part of the world, Haru is dead set on repaying the Baron with something that can only come to pass with her help. But not everything in London is what it seems, and somewhere in the sewers lies a conspiracy against her and all of the Cat Kingdom. Without the help of the Bureau, can she stop it, or will a certain mouse step in?


Helloooooo, world! It's been FOREVER, but the MadUnderTheHat is BACK!

So, my life's been busy, busy. I got into college, so I've barely had time to breathe, let alone sit down and write bad fanfics—until I got into the Cat Returns fandom yayy ^^ so this piece is inspired by Sindy Sugar's crossover with GMD, so I hope you al enjoy!

Disclaimer 1: I own nothing but my own special blend of tea inspired by Baron's experiments ;)

Disclaimer 2: as much as I support Baron/Haru on a good day, this will be a HaruxBasil fic. Again, not that I don't like the other pairing, but a little fan-fairy told me that our dear Baron is engaged to a certain someone (wink wink) and I just think these two would make such a cute couple, with lots of arguments in between ;))

Disclaimer 3: some characters may be OOC, sorry. It's been awhile since I wrote fanfiction, and sometimes I can't write characters very well

Onward to the story!

The Repayment

Chapter 1: the Refuge

He didn't know if it was a sign, or just that horrible excuse for a cannoli he had after lunch—whatever it was, Muta had a bad feeling about that day. Maybe it was the fact that almost eight ass-holes had mistaken him for a cushion on his post at the crossroads, or maybe it was the fact that for the first time since Chicky began visiting after the Cat Kingdom incident he got beaten on the road to the Refuge—no. The moment the feline knew that shit was gonna hit the fan was when Chicky's eyes lost their spark after telling her about Louise.

It all really started when they arrived at the Refuge…

_Haru tried to stifle her laughter as Muta sprinted through the gateway, fur puffing up to twice the feline's size._

"_You—got lucky—this time, Chicky" Muta panted, trying to catch his breath. Peals of laughter could be heard from Toto's perch, the crow falling back from the stone base in raucous glee._

"_Are you kidding me, lard-ball? With that fat stomach of yours it's a wonder you could see in front on ya, let alone outrun our Haru!"_

"_Take that back you Tweetie-wannabe!"_

"_Wow, did you come up with that one yourself, pudding-breath? Must've taken you a long time."_

"_Come on boys, play nice" Haru said, stepping in between the two before they started another one of their infamous fights. _

_Toto flew away from his perch in favor of Haru's shoulder, and proceeded to nuzzle his beak against her cheek. _

"_It's good to see you Haru. How was school?"_

_Haru smiled over at her friend, and mumbled that everything was fine. Meanwhile Muta had chosen to sit down at his usual chair clutching his copy of Miao Weekly in one hand and trying to subtly regain his breath._

"_Is Baron around, Toto? There's some news I'd like to share with you guys," Haru asked._

_Muta scoffed, "What, can't tell us lowly real cats what's so damn important? Chicky, if you're not careful, we're gonna start thinking you like Baron more than us." He grinned evilly while Haru blushed._

_Of course, he already knew the girl had the hots for the wooden cat doll. It was so obvious, with the way she blushed whenever the Baron simply said something to her, or the goofy grin always plastered on her face when they got to the Refuge. Haru had admitted everything to him a couple of months ago, and of course the fatso took every opportunity to rag her about it. _

"_Can't you ever leave the girl alone Muta? First off why would she want to share something with you when all you ever do is tease her? Maybe if you thought about things other than food and entertainment all the time you might actually be trusted by people" Toto swooped away from Haru and started to claw away at Muta's pelt._

"_You better not do that again chicken-wings, or the next time I'll stuff you in the oven" the cat cried out._

"_Chicken-wings again? Can't you ever think of anything original for once, fart-cushion?"_

"_Well at least I don't have a bird-brain!"_

_Haru sighed, feeling helpless as yet another argument ensued. Turning towards the door of the Bureau, she knocked-and waited. No answer. Baron might be out on a case, she thought. But then why didn't Toto say so? Then again, neither of her friends told her that Creations couldn't leave the Bureau on a slow day just for a stroll. Maybe he was in one of the rooms upstairs, and couldn't hear neither her knocking nor the racket the other two were making outside. Haru glanced through the minute windows of the house, hoping to see a sign of the cat doll, when something all-too-familiar caught her eye._

_The young woman had always been curious about the portrait of the white she-cat kept on top of the mantel inside the Bureau—but she never asked the Baron about it. Part of it was because she was afraid of finding out: it was clear from the Baron's longing glances and its lovingly-cleaned frame that the lady in the picture was, or is, someone very dear to her crush. Asking Baron might not only bring up a sensitive topic but also make things awkward between them, especially after she admitted to liking him that way. But still…_

"_Hey, Muta—"_

"_You asked for it, worm-breath!"_

_Haru sweat-dropped. _

"_Aww, poor wittle puddy tat!" __**(A/N: Toto's having too much fun with the Tweetie reference)**_

"_Guys, I thought I told you to play nice! Muta, please get off of Toto" Haru cried loudly, finally getting their attention._

_The fatso got up and brushed his fur back into place, snickering at the now-heaving Toto before turning to the girl._

"_Yeah, okay Chicky. What were you saying?"_

"_I've been wanting to ask you about the picture you guys have on the mantelpiece" she said, pointing to the inside of the unlit sitting room._

"_Wha…"_

_Haru had done the impossible in rendering both rivals speechless, but she did not feel good about it at all. It became so quiet in the plaza you could possibly hear a pin drop. Even Toto had stopped arranging his feathers to look at her with a sad expression._

"_Haru, I'm sorry…but you have to know, those are memories from a long time ago, and Baron has long gotten over Louise—"_

"_What do you mean?" Her heart slowly made its way to the pit of her stomach…_

"_Louise is the Baron's long-lost fiancée," Muta stated bluntly._

_He saw no point in ignoring the pink elephant in the middle of the street, so he told her. He told her about the doll that was meant to be the Baron's only soul-mate, and was bound by the same magic that gave life to the gentleman cat. He told her how their creator, a young German man who studied as a toymaker's apprentice, gave the female doll to his beloved when he confessed to her, and how they were both separated when the second World War began. Finally, he told her how the Baron's spent more than half a decade searching for her without success. With each deadpan word that came out of his mouth the feline saw Chicky's eyes lose their shine little by little._

_By the time he'd finished no one was saying anything, and so they heard the tapping of shoes against the brick road of the Refuge. Haru quickly fixed her expression into a grin as the Baron made his way over to the trio, a bundle of dried leaves on one arm._

_The cat creation smiled as he looked up to Haru. "Good evening Ms. Haru. It's a pleasure to find you here." (__**A/N: Blah, I can't write Baron to save my life)**_

"_Hi Baron. I hadn't realized you were out, so I came over to visit."_

"_Well I had merely gone to acquire some herbs for my tea blends" he remarked, gesturing towards the leaves, "If you'd like to come inside for a moment I could fix you a cup."_

_Haru's smile became more real. "A cup of tea sounds wonderful…"_

_Muta suppressed the urge to groan. The whole time Chicky had been inside the Bureau since story-time earlier, all conversation had been either stunted or totally AWKWARD. The girl had been acting like a mechanical doll, going through the motions of sipping from her tiny-ass cup of boiled grass and giving monosyllabic answers to whatever Baron was asking her. The cat doll was no better. Muta would admit that despite being a show-off, Baron is a master at solving complicated situations and a complete gentleman to boot—but the guy couldn't read subtle emotions to save his life. In short, when it came to Chicky, he is utterly CLUELESS despite the fact that she pretty much holds a giant sign spelling out "Team Baron" with little hearts on it. To top it all off the bird-brain was giving him the Evil Eye. Note to self: Google protection amulets. _

_It seemed like the Baron finally realized how awkward the atmosphere was, since he turned towards Haru and asked her if everything was alright. Obviously she just mumbled that everything was okay, and then the tension returned like a dumb dog after it fetched the stick. It was high time somebody broke with the staring contest everyone seemed to be so keen on._

"_So Chicky, you said something about a surprise for us earlier, think you're gonna tell us anytime soon, or are we gonna have to wait until next year?"_

"_A surprise?" the Baron cocked his head to the side in curiosity._

"_I'd forgotten about that" said Toto, "so what is it you wanted to tell us Haru?"_

_The young woman looked at her friends, stifling a giggle at their expressions. _

"_You guys remember when I told you about the college applications I've been busy with lately?"_

_They all nodded, as the cat lord smiled knowingly at his dearest acquaintance._

"_So you've received a reply?"_

"_Oh, not just a reply," Haru grinned, clutching her teacup tightly with the excitement._

"_I've been accepted at the University of the Arts in London, with a full scholarship to major in Fine Arts!"_

Yep, that's when the shit really hit the fan.

**SO, dear readers, tell me what you think! Too short, too much dialogue, too little, are the characters sounding like the characters, LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU THINK I CAN FIX! CRITICISM IS WELCOME!**

**So, I know Baron isn't painted in his best light here, but the idea is that Muta is a little pissy at him because the tiptoes around Haru's feelings. Sure, the fatso is really gruff, but I believe he really cares about Haru as a friend and maybe as a little sister if she is a continuous visitor at the Bureau, which in this case she is…**

**Muta and Toto's fights were SOOO FUN TO WRITE! I wanted to start the next chapter off when Haru's already in London, but since after that the Bureau won't be making much of an appearance I think I'll slide in a little more fun times soon ;)) And to our Basil fans, DO NOT DESPAIR, WE'LL BE MEETING THEM SOON!**

**Also, since I'll probably be really really busy this month, my next chapter update probably won't be until the start of next month DON'T BE ANGRY AT MEEEE. Review, comment, write me a message to let me know if there's any idea you'd like me to include, even though I have a plot panned out I'm really open to ideas (except on the pairing front).**

**SEE YA THNX FOR EVERYTHING DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW FOR VIRTUAL HUGGS!**

**MadUnderTheHat999**


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